Four Residents Sick from Fumes

At approximately 2220 hours, Public Safety Communications received a 911 call from the 7000 block of Highview Terrace in Hyattsville, Maryland, for a report of an unknown odor in a three-story, multi-family apartment building. A fire department Engine was immediately dispatched and arrived shortly on the scene, investigated the situation, and discovered that a new tenant mixed common household cleaning materials thus causing an irritant odor throughout the building.

Additional Fire & EMS units were requested to the scene to assist the first arriving Engine due to a number of tenants complaining of the irritant. As additional fire & EMS units arrived, they assisted other tenants and in the ventilation of the building to remove the irritant odor. As a precaution the Prince Georges Fire/EMS Department dispatched its hazardous materials units along with its medical ambulance bus. The hazmat units were used for investigation purposely only with their advance meters.

As a result of the incident, four patients were transported to area hospitals for evaluations with none being life threatening. The patients ages range from 22 - 65 years of age and it is unknown at the time if the patients were all from the same apartment unit or from the unit of origin of the irritant odor. There were a total of 21 firefighters and paramedics on-the-scene supported by 7 apparatuses. The incident was beginning to downsize and fire and EMS units were going in-service shortly.

Very respectfully,
Acting Major Paul Cruz
3018837154
Mark E. Brady